Vampire Academy Sabbatical Year
by PixieMaura
Summary: What happened during Rose's and Lissa's little Sabbatical Year at Vampire Academy? A new, mysterious girl arrives at St. Vladimir's, and nobody knows exactly what she is. Caught between three worlds, Isla must find her own way to survive in Vampire Academy and figure out who she is in the world of magic, vampires and blood.
1. Start from Scratch, Please?

So, I don't want to start this story moaning about my life. Everybody has those days when they don't know where they belong. People worry about not belonging at home, at school, with their friends… But let me tell you, for once, I believe I deserve the right to be worried.

I mean, not belonging to a, or even any, kind of species is a little more worrying, I think.

Let me start from scratch here, or at least from where I think is necessary. I was at home, laughing at people on the Dr. Phil show, Harry Potter book laid beside me in case said people start to get boring, and Fluffy, my kitten, on my lap, and a knock on the door comes. Broad, muscled guy with black hair to his shoulders, and a duster, with a letter in his hands, addressed to me. Now, I didn't think anything of him at the time - aside from the fact that he was really handsome, and that he had unusual attire for a postman, (I mean, who wears a duster anymore?) - because he had a letter for me, and that never really happened.

The letter came from an address I didn't recognize, and the name didn't sound familiar.

St. Vladimir's Academy? Did I get such good grades that I'm offered a scholarship somewhere or something? Exams had only just finished, there's no way they got my grades before me! Unless my school suspected I was some kind of savant… It would make sense, in comparison to my fellow students, I was flipping Einstein. But surely… no? A knock on the door again, probably got the address of the letter wrong…

_Too bad, couldn't even open it._

DusterGuy stood in front of the door again, this time with a short-haired woman on his side.

Now, this is the point where I'm kind of weirded out. I'm paranoid, so my mind goes from 'Hey! Here's your letter back' to 'Please don't kill me, I have a cat who depends on me.'

"Miss Isla Meers, my name is Dimitri Belikov, we'll need you to come with us." The man spoke in an accented English, sort of Slavic? I wonder how the man knew I spoke English, maybe he checked my records? My mind told me to be smart and act like I didn't understand him, ask him to explain in Dutch, but I think that would not have fooled him, he had the kind of eyes that looked too perceptive to be tricked by something like that.

"Euhm… Is this a kidnapping?" I stammered after a silence.

"Only if you don't cooperate."

"Where would you take me? Is this some kind of state thing? CIA? NCIS?"

"St. Vladimir's Academy requests your presence." Russian, maybe?

St. Vla-? Oh, the letter, right.

"Yeah, I didn't get to reading it, honestly, do you mind?"

"I do, we have little time, pack whatever you need, I shall explain on the way to the Academy."

"For how long should I pack?" I said, freaking out, but the man and woman were looking around as if searching for enemies, which made me think this was a serious matter. Or maybe I just watched too much crime shows.

"Indefinitely. We can always send someone to retrieve any items you may have forgotten."

I nodded.

"May I see your badge though? I need to know you are linked to this Academy before going with you."

The man quickly pulled out a laminated card from his inside pocket.

"Dimitri Belikov, Guardian at St. Vladimir's Academy," I read, "Guardian?"

"As I said, I'll explain later, for now you should be packing."

Now I'm not going to say I wasn't freaking out about this, my heart was racing and a burst of adrenalin was the only thing keeping me focused, but I mean, they had an official document, a letter, knew my address… And it wasn't as if I was terribly rich or whatever, there was absolutely no reason for a kidnapping.

I grabbed my Fluffy and my essentials, along with my clothing. Sweaters or tops?

"Hey, where is this Academy? Should I bring warm clothes?"

"Montana." I turned to go to my living room where Mr. Belikov was looking out the window into the street.

"Montana, as in America?"

"Yes, and bring both, it's summer, but the nights are cold."

I nodded.

And so, a few hours later, I was at a small airport an hour or two outside of town. It looked like it catered only to private planes. Okay, this must be super-secret service stuff, if I get to go on a private plane.

Fluffy was tucked safely in my arms as Mr. Belikov had so kindly offered to carry my luggage.

"May I know your name?" I asked the short-haired woman, trying to start a conversation.

"Alberta Petrov." She answered in a tone that clearly stated she didn't like the idea of conversation. I hoped Mr. Belikov would be more accommodating.

Once I was seated in a comfortable chair, Fluffy in the one next to me and Mr. Belikov seated in front of me, facing me. I'd never been on a plane with this kind of seat plan.

"Mr. Belikov?"

"Dimitri." he quickly said.

"Could you explain, please?" Fluffy jumped on my lap, as if also interested. I scratched her neck.

"What's his name?" he asked.

"He's Fluffy."

"Strange that she dares to be so close to you." I frowned.

"Well, I had her since she was a baby. Cats don't like you?" He shook his head and told me something I wasn't prepared to hear.

"Ever heard of vampires, Miss Meers?"

"Isla. And yes. Well, it depends on which kind." I added, deciding I shouldn't ask myself too much questions about his conversation subject.

He looked at me questioningly.

"Well, Anne Rices' vampires, True Blood vampires, Vampire Diaries vampires. I prefer the Twilight vampires myself. I love sparkles." I grinned at his confused face, Dimitri Belikov didn't seem like the kind of man you could throw of his horse. Alberta frowned.

"Alright. All myths are descended from certain truths, Isla. Vampires exist, but not in the way you might expect," he continued, "you see, true vampires, the ones at St. Vladimirs' ".

"Whoa, hold up, where we're going there's going to be vampires?"

His face remained serious, "Yes. Now let me explain."

"There are three kinds of vampires in this world. The first, are Moroi. They are good vampires, they drink blood, but only from people willing to give it. Sunlight annoys them but won't kill them, and they can step onto holy ground. They also practice magic, each specializes in one of the four; water, fire, earth and air. Secondly," he glanced at Alberta, "are the Dhampirs. Me and Alberta are Dhampirs. We can go out in sunlight, eat whatever we want, and are usually stronger than humans and Moroi. We protect the Moroi."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because of the Strigoi, the third kind. They are Moroi, Dhampirs, who turned themselves or were forcefully turned into a soulless, dreadful kind of vampire. They don't feel compassion, kill when they drink, and are the strongest amongst all the kinds. They love Moroi blood."

I nodded, taking it all in slowly, again not asking myself too many questions.

"Where do I come in?"

"A few weeks ago, a Moroi was in your city at night with his guardian, a Dhampir. This guardian had seen a Strigoi trying to sneak up on his Moroi in an alley. During the fight, the Strigoi suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked at the street not far from the alley. It stopped fighting for the blood of the Moroi, and started heading to the street. The guardian took advantage of the Strigoi's loss of concentration and staked him. When the guardian looked back in the street, he saw you. You were what the Strigoi was after." Dimitri, you have officially scared me.

"So, you think I'm a witness? You think I saw something I shouldn't have? I swear to God, I don't even know what you're talking about, when was this supposed to have happened? Am I in trouble?" I ranted.

"It is not about whether you saw something or not, it is about the fact that you came along, and the Strigoi went straight for you, without even looking at the Moroi."

Confusion alert. "So… I look like I have yummy blood?"

"We don't know. We're bringing you to St. Vladimir's to find out. It's the safest place against the Strigoi we have."

"You think Strigoi are after me?"

"No, but if your path ever crossed with one again, and there weren't any highly trained Dhampir guardians around you, you'd die a most painful death. Now, it's best if you sleep, it's a long flight."

Yeah, because that's going to be easy after that…


	2. St Vladimir's Academy

St. Vladimir's Academy.

The name plastered next to the big front gate looks intimidating. It reminds me of some old movie I once saw where this kid was sent to a boarding school filled with secrets and horrible people. I hope to God it isn't like that in here. Entering school ground with a big 4X4 car at night is quite cool though, it gives a little spy-movie like edge.

"We'll need you to talk to Headmistress Kirova before we let you get settled in." Dimitri said, getting my luggage out of the car and setting it by the door of what looks to be the main building.

"Okay. Hey, wait, it's night, are there going to be people walking around here then?"

"It's a holiday, so most of the students will be at home with their family, but there are a few who choose to stay here." Great, so I won't be alone, that's a plus, I guess.

Entering the main building - which is a stunning piece of architecture, by the way – Dimitri led me to the Headmistress' office. He opened the door for me and inside I was greeted by a beautiful young woman, busy with some paperwork. She lowered her glasses as she heard me enter.

"Ah, you must be Miss Meers, please, be seated." She gave me a smile that kind of creeped me out, but I stepped closer to her anyway and offered my hand in politeness.

"Call me Isla, please, you must be Headmistress Kirova." A cold, firm hand shook mine. I sat down.

"Indeed," She smiled that creepy smile again, "well, isn't this interesting. You don't look Moroi. You're small."

My face twisted in confusion. It's not that I could help it that I was a late-bloomer!

"Of course I don't look Moroi, I'm not Moroi." My periods would be quite awkward if I was. "Moroi are usually… Tall?" I asked.

"Yes, and you don't look quite Dhampir either, no muscle on you at all." She observed.

"Thanks, but I am quite certain I am human. And I do have muscles! I've walked to and from school every day for the past three years, that's almost eight kilometers a day, my legs are super strong now." I said defensively. People had been trying to teach me how to speak properly to other people for years and then she comes in and starts talking about how I don't fit the bill for either kind of vampire? How dare she!

"Headmistress Kirova, if I may. During the time I have been with Miss Meers, she seemed to have no idea about our existence, nor did she give any indication she knew she was different."

"Whoa, wait, you think I'm different?" Surely there's a compliment in that somewhere.

"You do smell extraordinary. Better than any human I have smelt. Strigoi must go crazy around you."

"I could change my shampoo?" I offered. I heard Dimitri huff a laugh behind me. Kirova frowned.

A knock came on the door. Headmistress Kirova let out a frustrated huff and called "Come in" in a menacing voice.

A frail-looking man came through the door, together with a young girl with glasses and curls and a muscled man, slightly taller than Dimitri and with shorter hair.

"Victor Dashkov, what are you doing here?" Kirova demanded.

"Dear Headmistress Kirova, I heard word that my savior has arrived. Is this the lady?"

Kirova locked her jaw and seemed to speak through her teeth. "Yes, it is. Victor Dashkov, meet Isla Meers."

Savior? Say what?

"Oh my gosh, it's so nice to meet you! Thank you so, so, so much for saving my daddy! I know you were almost killed doing it, so thank God for Spiridon for keeping that Strigoi off of you. Spiridon's my father's guardian, but they might have told you that already, that's him by the door." The girl rambled at me. "I'm Natalie, by the way."

I held out my hand, which she ignored and just clutched me into a tight hug.

"Euhm, hi. I'm Isla."

"Natalie, let the poor girl go, she seems frightened."

"I'm fine." I reassured her worried little face.

I held out my hand to the frail man. "Victor Dashkov, nice to meet you. I might have this wrong, but were you the Moroi who was being attacked by the Strigoi before it left you?" I was still a bit skeptical about the whole 'Strigoi like my smell'-part.

"Indeed."

I looked at the guardian at the door, Spiridon.

"Then you must be the man to whom I owe my life." The guardian nodded, as if uninterested, but I saw his chest swell a bit with pride as Dimitri looked over him. Some rivalry between the two, perhaps?

"She does smell remarkable," Victor Dashkov told Kirova.

That's it, goodbye, heavenly-smelling body wash, you were much liked.

"Her blood must taste divine…" He continued.

I wrapped one of my hands subtly around my neck.

"Euhm, would you mind not mentioning that. You know, you guys being vampires and all."

Kirova smiled creepily at my discomfort and Victor huffed a laugh and broke into a cough.

"Are you quite alright, sir?" I offered quietly.

Natalie seemed to have heard, "Daddy is sick, it's been getting worse, but Daddy thinks there's still hope for a cure."

I looked at Natalie's saddened face. "I hope there is, too. Hope you find it soon." I offered. She hugged me again.

"Headmistress Kirova, I came also to ask you whether my daughter could stay at the Academy over summer. While my health still permits me to travel long distances, I'd like to go to hospitals abroad, maybe find out more about my illness and whether other Moroi have it. I don't want to bore Natalie with going from hospital to hospital." Natalie seemed to want to protest, "and I think that this might be the best place to keep her while I'm away."

Kirova frowned, "Of course, Dashkov."

"Thank you. Now, I must ask something of you, Kirova. And you, Isla." I turned my head towards him.

"I may not be of the best health, but I am quite perceptive for a Moroi. She smells divine, Kirova, but don't you smell anything else? A hint, an undertone of something?"

Natalie seemed to be moving closer to smell me better, which weirded me out.

"Dhampirs smell better than humans… and our own kind smells more… pure, than human blood." Victor continued, "She smells like a breath of fresh air and hints of fresh fruits… Now have you ever smelt those two combined, Kirova?" I was freaking out at this point.

"Are you implying…?" Kirova added mysteriously. Victor Dashkov nodded.

Kirova stayed silent for a while.

"You know that it's impossible, Dashkov, I might advise you to also let your mind heal while on your travels. I will not hear of this foolishness." Kirova said in a cold, menacing tone.

"It would just take one taste to figure it out, Kirova." Victor said, looking at me.

I was frozen on the spot, and beginning to regret the decision to come here.

"Enough!" Kirova slammed on her table, "Escort your daughter to her apartment and leave."

Dashkov looked like he wanted to object, but held his tongue. Which I am extremely glad for, mind you. Kirova angry is creepy.

Natalie went to her father's side with a little wave towards me and left with him and Spiridon.

"Well, that was weird." I said to Dimitri after we left Kirova's office.

"It was." He said curtly. He seemed to be in a thoughtful mood after the whole thing.

"Am I to be staying with the Moroi or the Dhampirs?"

"You'll be in a building of your own." Okay then. "Wouldn't want to wake up with a Moroi hanging over your neck." He gave me a small grin as I looked at him in shock.

"So, he can joke." I said in a surprised tone.

"Only in private. It shall never happen again."

We reached the door over a cute little house near the school grounds. I guess this was home for an indefinite amount of time. I grabbed Fluffy from the ground and scratched beneath his chin.

"Such a cute little boy, you like your new house for now, baby?" I cooed. Dimitri grinned at me and scratched the top of his head.

"Fluffy seems to like you." I observed. Fluffy purred.

"Why did Kirova get so weird at Dashkov?" I asked him, hoping my cute little Fluffy made him more agreeable and talkative.

"I honestly don't know. I have an assumption, but that can be far from true."

"I'd like to hear it, though." I urged.

He shook his head. "I told you, I don't even know. I do not want to make you worry. It's late, you had a long flight, and you'll need to wake up early to get used to our timetable."

"I'll have to be awake at night?"

"It will be more convenient for all of us." I nodded. Darn, it's summer, which means lots of bugs at night, and if I smell so good…

"Well, rather bugs bite me than some Moroi." I mumbled. Dimitri opened the door for me, gave me the key, and told me he had to take care of something, leaving me and Fluffy alone in a strange house in the middle of a school for vampires.

Gotta love life.


	3. Christian Ozera

Dimitri has officially ditched me.

I am not used to this, usually it's I who do the ditching. I passed Alberta on my way to our meeting spot. She told me that he was a busy guy, and that I should go look for him at a later date.

He told me he was going to show me around in the morning, but that he had a few things to take care of before, and that I should meet him at St. Vlad's statue by 11 o'clock (daytime!).

Plan ruined, I decided I'd make myself familiar with the grounds. I saw a church behind the school buildings and decided that would be the most quiet place to go. Now, I'm not religious at all, but I do like walking into churches and cathedrals. I like looking at the colored glass and the way the sunlight hits it, and churches give off this vibe. I've never had a religious experience or anything like that, but I do like the tranquility in churches.

I walked in and stopped at the wall nearest to the entrance. A family, the Dragomir's, had been killed, quite recently, their pictures and names now forever stood on the walls of a church.

Going further into the church, I admired the artwork on the walls and the tainted glass. I saw in the front seat and inspected it's architecture, being an arts' student, I wanted to recognize in which era it was built. Instead, I noticed a small round stairway in the back corner.

Feeling as though in a Da Vinci-Code movie, I sneaked up the stairs. Opening a creaky door, I entered what seemed to be a tiny dusty library. There was a beautiful colored glass window on the other side of the room, and I decided to take a closer look. The yellows and oranges and reds played beautifully together with the sunlight. It looked like something from another world.

"Beautiful." I muttered, resting my elbows on the windowsill. I sat there resting my arms for a few moments and sighed. It is rarely that I feel at peace, but at one of these moments, with no other sound but my own breathing, and a sight before me that is completely tranquil, I feel relaxed, at ease.

"Beautiful." Another voice called. I turned around swiftly, shocked quickly out of my state of tranquility. My hand flew to my heart and I breathed loudly.

"My god, you scared me for a moment." I breathed, a polite smile at my lips as I gaze into the blue eyes of my disturber.

"I'm sorry for that." He held out his hand. "Christian Ozera." I shook it with the hand that wasn't resting against my chest.

"Isla Meers. Nice to meet you." I looked him over. Tall, pale-skinned and handsome, he captivated my attention.

"I see you found my hiding place." He smirked, but it didn't reach his eyes.

I turned apologetic, "I'm so sorry! Did I bother you?"

He shrugged, "It's fine. It is truly beautiful isn't it?" He said it rather than asked, nodding at the glass.

"So peaceful." I sat down in one of the armchairs next to the window, feeling my knees getting shaky.

He sat down as well, looking at the window.

After a silence, I said, "So, not to be rude or anything, but are you Moroi or Dhampir, I kinda have a hard time figuring it out, I haven't met many yet."

"I'm Moroi. How do you mean you haven't met many?"

"I only came in yesterday, and I've met only three Dhampirs and three Moroi… at least I think, Natalie was kind of small…"

He looked at me strangely, "You're human?"

"Of course, but there's something freaky about my smell, Strigoi like it. I think they brought me here to see why that is, exactly."

You looked me over and sniffed the air, "You do smell incredibly… tasty."

I giggled and he looked weird. "The only two people who said that before you were a middle-aged man and a creepy woman, am I not allowed to giggle when it's a hot guy who tells me I smell nice?" I asked.

He looked shocked for a moment, and I became incredibly cheery, apparently I like catching men of guard.

"Hot, huh? Where is your accent from?" He asked.

"Belgium, we speak a kind of Dutch there. Not interesting enough to talk about."

"And if Strigoi like your scent, how come you're still alive? You're, what, seventeen now? You probably would've passed a Strigoi's path once or twice in your life."

I thought about that. "I don't know, I did pass one, but a Moroi, Victor Dashkov, and his guardian were there at the time and killed him before he could get to me. I was oblivious of that until yesterday."

"You haven't told your family and friends about this, have you? Our existence is a secret, it must remain that way."

I looked at him reassuringly, "I have no one to tell."

He smiled crookedly, "I have no one either. My aunt is the only family I have left."

"Your parents are-?" He answered curtly, "Dead."

"I'm so sorry." I never quite understood why people said that, it's not like you could've helped it.

He huffed a laugh, but it wasn't a happy one. "You wouldn't if you knew why they'd died."

"May I ask?"

"They turned Strigoi, voluntarily. Became monsters, and would've turned me into one as well. They were killed."

"But they were your parents, did you love them?" I asked, not in an accusatory tone, but as a comforting one.

"I hated what they became, but they were still my parents. I couldn't properly mourn for them, not when everybody else cheered that evil monsters were beaten."

"I'm still sorry. They were your parents. Did they at least get a funeral?"

"No, they're buried somewhere outside of the Academy."

I looked at him and for some reason, started rambling some sort of consolation.

"I'd like to pay my respects one day if you don't mind."

He looked up in shock.

"Why is that?"

"Because, before they turned Strigoi, they must've loved each other enough to have a child together. I don't say I like their choices, but they made one choice out of love for one another, and I can respect that." It didn't describe exactly the feelings I had towards his parents, but seeing the man they had created in front of me, a seemingly kind, well-spoken man, I felt more sadness for their loss of life than anger for their choice of death.

Christian looked at me in silence, then nodded.

A buzzing sound came from his bag. He pulled out a little device that buzzed and had bright red lights surrounding it.

"Is that a bad or a good thing, the red lights?"

He showed me a little grin. "Bad for you, good for me. It's my time to go drink."

"As in, humans?" I asked, he nodded.

"May I come see? I have all these ideas about vampires from my books and tv-shows, I'd like to see exactly what's true and what's not." I cocked an eyebrow, as if to ask silently if I was being serious.

"Is it that bad?"

"Maybe you should see." is all he said.

"I expected dungeons and bats, you disappoint me, Christian." I teased as he led me through what looked like an extremely cozy hospital, without the hospital scent of bleach and bad food. Well, honestly, I don't know about the bad food stuff…

"So, you just buy a bag or something here? Got a preference? A-Negative, O-Positive?"

He showed his buzz machine to the woman behind the desk and was let through a pair of curtains.

The thing that freaked me out most is the sound of moaning that came from the room.

"Oh my God, please don't tell me you're succubi and incubi! I don't want to see that!" I covered my eyes hastily.

"Nothing to worry about, but a Moroi bite, it releases endorphins which makes the bite feel nice to the human." A woman led us to one of the far out curtains and we stepped into a small room where a woman was reading a newspaper. She looked up excitedly with a bit of a glazed look.

"I don't think I want to watch this." The moaning sounds creeped me out, and I didn't exactly want to see my… friend, I guess, with his teeth into another woman's neck.

"Go then, I'll talk to you when I come back."

I walked back to the main room of the blood bank, and seated myself in one of the luxurious white couches. A few minutes later, Christian showed up again, wiping his mouth with a tissue.

"Yuck."

"Yum." He corrected.

"So, these people, are they in the know of all this? It's not like they brought me here to become one of those, right?" I asked worriedly.

"Not at all, they're ordinary people, here voluntarily, interested in vampires, we let them stay here and donate for a year, then erase their memories and release them back to their world with the idea they had a nice relaxing vacation."

"They looked… addicted." I offered.

"The endorphins, it's like a drug, gives them a high they crave."

Well that's just… great?

"Want to meet my cat?" I said, after walking together in silence.

I led him to my little house without giving him a chance to answer.

"Hey Fluffy!" I cooed at my kitten, playing in the front lawn with a flower.

"Fluffy?" Christian cocked his eyebrow.

"Fluffy. Isn't he cute?" I heaved my little baby up into my arms and turned him around so I could scratch his tummy as he reached for my chin. Christian hesitantly brushed a finger under his chin. He seemed increasingly uncomfortable.

"Oh my gosh, I forgot, it's day, shouldn't you be inside? Or sleeping?"

"Don't tell me humans go to bed the second it gets dark. But I'd like to go inside if you don't mind, the sun is… disturbing."

After a lovely chat with Christian, in which I bored him with dozens of questions about the differences between Moroi and Dhampirs, I let him go, giving him an umbrella to protect him from the sun.

"Hope to see you again soon, Christian." I smiled at him as he eyed me weirdly.

"You too. Have a nice day."

I guess making friends here wouldn't be as difficult as I thought it would.


End file.
